


Eye for an Eye

by blueluck



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Drama, F/F, F/M, Firebender Asami Sato, Love Triangles, Slow Burn, haven't planned that far
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:35:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29037972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueluck/pseuds/blueluck
Summary: Asami is Firebender returning to Pro Bending after an injury with the White Falls Wolfbats. Her return is overshadowed by the Avatar, but she plans to make sure Korra knows who she is messing with. Things take an unexpected turn when she finds herself ridiculously attracted to her while also making unexpected connections with the Fire Ferrets.
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Comments: 22
Kudos: 54





	1. Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Asami hissed through her teeth as she lowered herself shakily into a post-training ice bath. The first few minutes she squirmed uncomfortably against the cold, but she quickly grew accustomed to the temperature as she closed her eyes at let her head fall back. It was the Firebender’s first official practice back with the White Falls Wolfbats after a nasty ACL tear that ended her season last year. Over the last year, she waited anxiously from the sidelines and focused on recovery while she watched her teammates clinch the championship regardless of her absence. 

Her anticipated return to Pro Bending with the Wolfbats had recently been overshadowed by the Avatar’s Pro Bending debut with the Fire Ferrets. Asami remembered listening to Avatar Korra’s first fight over the radio as she looked over Satomobile plans at Future Industries. She remembered the first time she saw the girl compete even more clearly. Korra was often clumsy with her technique and lacked the certain grace Asami had expected from someone of her caliber, but she played with emotion. Her intensity is probably what saved the match for the Fire Ferrets.

 _They’re cheating by having her on the team, don’t you think?_ Tahno whined when the trio of Wolfbats had their weekly meeting about strategies against other teams and upcoming matches. The Fire Ferrets had never really been on their radar before, but now, they were a team that the public said to look out for.

Asami was less annoyed by the ethics of having the Avatar and more so by the limelight, recognition, and praise Korra immediately got. It was no secret that the Wolfbats were the Pro Bending team that public loved to hate, but they worked hard to get where they were. Asami had worked hard. Even with all her hard work, people still only saw her as a spoiled, rich daddy’s girl. As if she didn’t work hard to get where she was on her own merit. As if _Korra_ wasn’t handed Pro Bending fame and kudos just because she was the _Avatar._

Asami tried not to think about it too much because of her genuine excitement to return. Excited was probably even an understatement. As much as she enjoyed engineering and getting closer to her father while working more closely at Future Industries during her recovery, it made her appreciate the fast paced, physically demanding sport that much more. The Wolfbats and Asami would prove themselves whenever they got to face the Fire Ferrets and Korra.

Tahno and Ming were in the locker room, changed into fresh clothes by the time Asami was done with her bath. She greeted them nonchalantly as she grabbed her duffle and began to change herself. 

“Coming with us to get some food, Sato?” Tahno asked. 

“I don’t know, I’m pretty beat right now.”

“Come on, don’t be boring,” Ming pried.

Asami shot him a dirty look as she pulled on her jacket. Tomorrow would be her first official match back and she knew how nights getting ‘food’ with Ming and Tahno ended, and she was not going to risk the hangover. Even though they would still surely win tomorrow if all of them had the stomach flu. It was a throw away match, but it was still _Asami’s_ return.

“I’ll drop you off at the restaurant. I just-” Asami paused carefully, not wanting to show off any cracks in her hard exterior to Tahno and Ming. The truth was that she was nervous. She was worried about her come back and that she would not live up to the hype she established around her name. “It’s my first day back tomorrow. I want be ready.”

“You’ll be ready either way, Sato. We are facing a bunch of losers anyways. If you want to call it an early night, I can’t stop ya, but I know I always feel more prepared for a match after having some _fun_ the night before,” Tahno said with a wink.

“Didn’t ask, buddy,” Asami mumbled and rolled her eyes, instantly understanding the implications.

“You’d probably be a little less uptight if you got some action yourself, Asami,” Ming chimed in with a chuckle. Asami grimaced to herself. Her last few flings were nothing it not giant messes, and her teammates were well aware of her track record. Her misfortune in the romance department had become somewhat of a running joke between them.

Some Wolfbat groupies were waiting outside their gym, and Asami reluctantly agreed to let them hitch a ride as well. The girls all giggled as Tahno and Ming continued to pester and tease Asami until they rolled up to the traditional Water Tribe restaurant. She swore to herself that this was the last time she would be nice enough to offer a lift after all the banter during the drive.

That all changed in an instantly when Asami saw a familiar ponytail in the distance. Despite only being able to see the back of the girl’s head, Asami immediately recognized her as the Avatar.

“You know what… maybe I am a little hungry,” Asami said slowly as she watched Korra disappear into the restaurant. The boys shot each other sly looks before the trio and their groupies strode inside, radiating confidence.

There was an appetizing aroma in the air, and it was pleasantly warm. However, the real heat came when Asami’s searching eyes finally landed on Korra. She was sitting across from Bolin, the Earthbender boy from the Fire Ferrets. Asami immediately recognized him, and if she didn’t know any better she would say the pair were on a date. She crossed her arms, her chest starting to feel tight. Asami had to take a moment after she registered the intense surge of emotions as jealousy.

_What is there to be jealous about?_

“Look at those two Fire Ferret scrubs,” Ming nudged Asami with a chuckle, pulling her out of deep thought. Korra and Bolin were sitting happily, laughing at something apparently _really_ funny.

“We should introduce ourselves to their newest member. Warn her about what hanging out with trash like him can do,” Tahno said before he pushed past his teammates and towards the Ferrets.

 _Leave it to Tahno,_ Asami thought with a smirk as she watched him march up to the pair with ease. Asami wasn’t in complete opposition to his idea. Korra did deserve to know, after all.

Asami watched as Bolin timidly turned away from the Wolfbat entourage and Korra curiously peer towards them. Their eyes met for a brief moment, her eyes were so blue… Asami clenched her jaw and turned stone faced to Bolin before Tahno took the reins on the conversation.

“Well, well, well if it isn’t the Fire Ferrets… Pro Bending’s saddest excuse for a team. Tell me, how did a couple of amateurs like you luck your way into the tournament? Especially you, Avatar,” Tahno said smugly.

“I don’t think you should underestimate us,” Korra fired back fiercely.

“Hard to take a team that’s been getting special treatment seriously,” Asami snorted in amusement. Korra’s eyes flashed over to her, in apparent surprise.

“Keep your _groupies_ in line and leave us alone,” Korra sneered at Tahno.

The comment ignited something in Asami’s stomach. “Screw you. I’m _not_ a groupie,” Asami snapped harshly and pushed past Tahno.

“Could have fooled me.”

Tahno and Ming erupted into laughter. “I thought Bolin would have given you better warning. If you think I’m big and bad… you have no idea what _she_ is capable of,” Tahno said nudging Asami even closer towards the Ferrets’ table.

Bolin went pale as he leaned over to whisper something into Korra’s ear. Her eyes went wide, and they swept over Asami. Bolin was well aware of who Asami Sato was. He and his _handsome_ brother had to learn from personal experience in the ring two years ago during a qualifying match when the Ferrets were first starting to make a name for themselves. Asami was looking forward to making sure Korra knew who she was from here on out too.

“It looks like your teammate didn’t give you a fair warning about who you’re talking to, so I want to make it clear. I’m Asami Sato.”

“Well, Asami, just because we’re not loaded with Daddy’s money, doesn’t make us any less qualified. We’re not getting any special treatment, so you should start giving us some real credit,” Korra said angrily. Her comment about her money took Asami by surprise. It turns out Bolin told Korra a little bit about Asami, if Korra was aware of her ties to Future Industries.

“I’ll start giving you some _real_ credit once you get a _real_ teacher,” Asami interjected, brashly after she shook off the previous jab. She was frustrated that her _money_ was the one aspect about her that they chose to tell Korra about. As if was she was not the best Firebending Pro Bender there was.

Korra chuckled. “Oh yeah? I’m sitting across from the only qualified teacher here. Everyone else I see are a bunch of chumps.”

“I’m sure the charity case Fire Ferrets you know are doing the best they can, but soon you’ll see that some Pro Bending teams rely on talent rather than luck.” Asami’s green eyes light up animatedly as she pushed her long, black hair in a dramatic fashion. “If you really want to get anywhere, I’m free to give you some private lessons. That is, if you want to see how a _real_ pro bends,” she said lowly with a cheeky wink.

Asami was pleased when she noticed Korra blush a split second before she slowly stood up, closing the distance between the two of them. Asami froze in her spot, helplessly watching. Korra’s eyes were angry, and her lips were pouted as she looked up at Asami. Korra stood a few inches shorter than Asami, but the confidence she radiated in that moment made Asami feel like the smaller one.

“You want to go toe to toe with me, _Princess_?”

Despite Asami feeling the air catch in her throat, she maintained her unbothered smirk. Asami was surprised seeing just how easy it was to work up the ‘all-powerful’ Avatar. After seeing Korra’s reaction, Asami knew she would be having a lot of fun with this little rivalry that was emerging.

“Go for it,” Asami probed with a quirked eyebrow, “I’ll even give you the first shot.”

Bolin quickly shot up from his seat and in between the two girls. “Okay, okay. We’re not trying to get disqualified, let’s leave it for the tournament,” he laughed nervously and pulled Korra away.

Tahno wrapped his arm around Asami’s shoulder. A self-satisfied smile sat on his thin, pale lips. “Later, Ferrets,” he sang, looking back over his shoulder at Bolin and Korra.

“Wow, Asami,” Ming stated as the Wolfbats and their girls returned to their private room in the back. “Where did that come from? I didn’t realize you felt so _strongly_ about the Avatar.”

“I didn’t either,” Asami admitted sheepishly, her cheeks growing warm. She thought back to their interaction that just happened, and it surprised even herself. She felt an odd tingle of excitement throughout her body. Maybe, she thought, she was a little too excited...

 _Every great bender needs a great rival,_ she reassured herself quickly. She told herself it was just that, but it was hard to deny the overwhelming attraction that she felt towards Korra in those few moments. Especially when she watched Korra’s shoulders and arms tense, and expression twist angrily as she challenged Asami. 

Asami lazily pushed around the noodles that sat in front of her while everyone else started digging into their food and beers. Tahno caught notice of Asami, so very distracted, and scooted his drink towards her with a smug smile. “I thought you were hungry… maybe just a little _thirsty_?” he said slyly as he pushed his pitcher in front of Asami.

Her blush betrayed her, but she shot a glare at her teammate.

“Don’t be embarrassed, she was definitely into you,” Ming butted in.

“Hm,” Asami grunted as she crossed her arms and learned back into her chair. “I would believe you if you had any literal clue about women.”

“Hey! That’s rich coming from you… but anyways, back me up here, Tahno! You saw how Korra was looking at Asami, right?”

Asami’s eyes quickly snapped over to the Waterbender boy. She held her breath, somewhat hopefully. “She definitely would’ve fucked you right then and there,” he declared confidently. The two women who were wrapped around his arms started giggling at his response.

With that, Asami rolled her eyes and started to drink. In one go, she had chugged the pint of beer and was waving over the waiter for another. Tahno and Ming exchanged knowing looks before they looked back to Asami. All she could do was shrug as she proceeded to get _drunk._

Not just tipsy, but full on drunk. During the course of her recovery, she was careful about her routine. Her diet and exercise regimens were strict, so alcohol had been completely cut out. This was her first night indulging and it definitely showed.

The Wolfbats proceeded to go to a handful of other bars before Tahno and Ming found a few girls to both go home with that night. Asami drunkenly waved goodbye to them both as they left her alone, standing against her car.

“Fuck,” she groaned to herself, looking down at her keys. There was no way she was going to be able to drive home. Asami thought for a moment and decided instead of hailing a taxi, it would be easier to stumble to the Sato Estate.

It was dark, damp, and unforgiving out, but nothing Asami was afraid of. She was a talented Firebender with years of self-defense training. Even while she was drunk, she could probably take on any minor hindrance she could come across.

The real fight was the fight against gravity.

During the first 10 minutes of her walk, she had to double over a handful of times after almost finding herself sprawled on the pavement. Each stumble she cursed either herself or Tahno and Ming out. She made a point of telling herself to remember never to let them talk her into going out with them _again._

As she rounded one particular corner with blurry vision and heavy breathing, she found herself forcefully colliding with another person. The impact sent both of them spiraling down on their asses much to their mutual frustration.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you,” Asami grumbled, clumsily picking herself up to offer a hand to whoever it was she bumped into.

“How can you not see me?! I was-”

The boy stopped quickly in his tracks when his gaze met Asami’s and he realized who exactly he was talking to. Asami winced when she immediately recognized him as Mako, the captain of the Fire Ferrets and Bolin’s _handsome_ older brother.

“Sorry,” Asami offered again. Mako reluctantly took her hand and she hoisted him up. “I got to admit, I’m not in the best mindset right now. But you’re Mako, right? I’m pretty sure I recognize you.” 

He chuckled as he swept off his attire and fixed his hair. “Yes, and you’re Asami Sato. I didn’t think I’d be running into you tonight. Let alone running into you _drunk._ Do you need help getting home?”

She looked at him quizzically. There was absolutely no reason he should be nice to her right now. Not that they had many interactions with each other outside of Pro Bending, but from the times they have met, it never went in his favor. The Wolfbats reputation definitely spoke for itself, and the Fire Ferrets got to see their experience firsthand. Asami was definitely under the impression everyone thought they were dirty players, therefore lacking any sportsmen like trust between competitors.

“That’s actually really nice of you, but I think I’ve got it,” Asami said before proceeding to throw up. Mako dodged all of her mess and was quickly was by her side. His hands on her shoulders to help balance her as Asami wheezed out in shock of the sudden secretion.

_Shit._

“Come on. Let’s get you somewhere you can clean yourself up.”

It was the last thing she remembered before she blacked out.

Mako must have physically carried her to wherever it was that he lived because the next morning, Asami found herself waking up on a shitty couch in unfamiliar place with pounding hangover. She groaned in annoyance as she began to remember the events that occurred to lead to this point. All she could do was blame herself and hope that all the rumors about the walk of shame weren’t true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Giving another wack at writing. I was inspired after a fic I was enjoying was deleted. So here is a Firebending Asami AU! I'm confident in the direction I can go with this, so here's to seeing where this can go! (hopefully somewhere)


	2. Second Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami's return to Pro Bending and first solo sales pitch with Future Industries. With everything going on, it's hard to believe she can still only think about Korra.

Despite her _wicked_ hangover, Asami came, saw, and conquered in her return match the late evening following her drunken night out. Asami couldn’t even pretend to be annoyed about their performance because it wasn’t even close. Much how Tahno had predicted.

Asami didn’t have to pretend to be annoyed about the fact she stayed the night at _Mako’s_. _Mako_ as in the Fire Ferrets’ team captain. She hoped that he had also decided to keep their interaction a secret as well because there was no way she was mentioning it to _anyone._ Nothing against him, but it just really wasn’t in the cards right at the height of competition.

As soon as the Wolfbats stepped out the arena and into the lobby of the facility, they were bombarded with questions and flashing lights. Asami grunted and squirmed in discomfort as she shoved her way past the dozens prying reporters. Tahno and Ming had answered a few questions themselves, but Asami was not in the right mindset to even talk about what she had for breakfast.

“Ms. Sato! Ms. Sato! Do you think you played so well because the Avatar was in attendance?”

_Wait._

“Excuse me?” Asami croaked and stopped dead in her tracks, taken aback by the question.

“There were reports that Avatar Korra was in the audience tonight. Very unusual for her to show up to any match that’s not her own. That’s got to be a good sign that the Fire Ferrets are worried about the White Falls Wolfbats though, don’t you think?”

It was true, she found it hard to believe that Korra would show her support, especially considering their altercation last night.

“Um, no comment,” Asami finally replied lamely before she continued to the safety of their changing room. 

“Do you think that’s true?” Asami asked as soon as the door sealed them away from the ears of the general public.

“What? About the Avatar? No, not really. You would’ve noticed her, would you have?” Tahno asked in the most innocent tone. It was hard to misinterpret what he meant, but Asami still looked over to him with confusion. The glisten in his eyes quickly clarified anything.

“It’s a big arena,” she countered defensively.

“Those braids are hard to miss.”

Asami bit her tongue before she said something she would regret. She left the conversation at that and continued to change, as a distraction from the boys’ amused expressions. It was amazing how she had hardly broken a sweat during their match, but now she was now she was _beyond_ flustered.

Tahno and Ming quickly changed the subject and started exchanging accounts from their respective nights with sly smiles and dirty words on the opposite side of the room from Asami. The way they talked about girls made Asami’s skin crawl. She hated that those idiots were the best in the Pro Bending game and that she was stuck with them. Mostly, she hated that no other team wanted to give her a shot. During times like this, she had to remind herself that they gave her a chance, so she couldn’t actually hate them _that_ much.

“So, Asami,” Ming called from across the room, “how was your night?”

“Yeah, how did you get home? I was surprised you were even standing when I left you,” Tahno said with earnest amazement.

“I got a taxi,” Asami said simply. No further explanation needed. They both looked over to her, unconvinced. All she could do was offer a small shrug and ungracefully push the rest of her stuff in her duffle bag.

“You were playing like you got _some_. I was hoping that was the case,” Tahno sighed as he tossed his duffle over his shoulder. “Anyways, ready for round two? I’m sure after the show you put on just now, you could score outside of the ring too.”

Asami rolled her eyes. “No way, Tahno. I won’t be going out with you two idiots again. Ever.”

“Where have I heard that before?” Tahno replied playfully. “I was just kidding anyways. I know tomorrow is your big day for Future Industries.”

Future Industries was pitching their newest airships to the Republic City Police Force. It also happened to be Asami’s first big solo pitch. Much like this Pro Bending match, she had been ensured it was an ace in the hole deal. Hiroshi had trusted her to take this on by herself because he knew how much time she spent designing the majority of this aircraft. Asami knew it inside and out, but she still found herself nervous.

“Thanks for reminding me, I almost forgot,” Asami said sarcastically, as she slumped down on the bench. The boys both gave her reassuring pats on the back before retreating to the door frame. They were dressed and ready to embrace their groupies.

“Sato, you’ve got this. Let us know how it goes at practice in two days,” Tahno said with a final nod in her direction.

The reporters and press usually didn’t stick around too long after getting some shots and comments, and Asami was sure her teammates appeased their demands. She was still cautious and waited 10 more minutes before she went out to get her moped Luckily, for some extra coverage, her helmet made her unrecognizable (especially if you ignored the Future Industries logo). 

The garage was dimly lit and smelly, and Asami was looking forward to sleeping in her giant, comfortable bed that night. As she neared her moped, she saw a tall, shadowy figure in the distance. She hesitantly moved closer, only for it to be revealed to be Mako.

“What the flame-o are you doing here?” Asami snorted after the revelation. She removed her helmet and shot him a puzzled expression. “How did you even know which car mine was?”

“Your license plate is ‘SATO.’ And I wanted to check to see how you were doing after last night. Obviously pretty good based on how well you were during your match, though,” he offered, with a hint of a blush dusting his cheeks.

“Thanks, but you really didn’t have to check on me. You did enough last night,” Asami reassured with a grateful smile.

“Yeah, well, I felt obligated” Mako shrugged awkwardly.

Asami didn’t really know where to go from there. She cleared her throat to break the silence and moved closer in his and her vehicle’s general direction. Mako stepped away from her bike to make a clear path, almost in intimidation. She smirked as she out her key in the ignition.

“So, did all the Ferrets make an appearance tonight?” she asked slowly. Asami couldn’t help herself. The voice in the back of her head made it nearly impossible not to ask. For the sake of her sanity. Something about knowing whether or not Korra was there would make a huge difference to her.

“No,” Mako laughed and shook his head, “Bolin and Korra aren’t really about strategic gameplay.”

_Damn._ She had worked up all that hope, and for what? To Korra to further prove her a fool by inadvertently getting her hopes up? Asami could laugh at herself for her childish logic, but it didn’t change the fact it stung when learning her reporters shared a rumor earlier.

“Oh, well, they missed out,” Asami joked. She slid her helmet back on before turning to give Mako one last look. “Is there anything else that you want, Mako?”

“No, I guess not. I’ll see you around,” he replied slowly. He had a shy smile. Asami almost felt endeared by his actions, but she knew better to get any deeper feelings involved when it came to the competition. She had made that mistake before.

“I’ll see you around then.”

~~~~~~~~

Asami woke up early the next morning. Before she was even able to get out of bed she was met by a butler with a large cup of black coffee and orders that her father wanted to meet her at Future Industries as soon as possible. Surely to brush up on important notes before her meeting with the Republic City police.

She put on her best, most professional outfit before she quickly made her ways to Future Industries. Hiroshi probably spent the night there since Asami didn’t get to see him yesterday. After the match, she had hoped she would get to tell him all about it. As disappointing as it was, Asami knew it was probably for the best. Hiroshi was never a fan of her involvement with Pro Bending, and he didn’t try to hide it. Despite his dissatisfaction with both the sport itself and Asami’s teammates, Future Industries were the Wolfbat’s primary sponsor.

“Good morning, Dad,” Asami said when she found him in their testing warehouse.

“I thought you might have gotten here a little bit earlier,” he commented. Asami shifted awkwardly in her stance and gave him a strained, apologetic smile. “Nonetheless, the prototype is looking solid.”

“I’m glad you approve. The team and I have been working extra hard over the last few months to get everything finalized for today,” Asami said watching Hiroshi carefully. He was distracted, shuffling through blueprints and licensing paperwork. She could tell he was nervous.

Moving swiftly to his side, she wrapped her arm around his shoulder. “You’ve taught me everything I know, Dad. Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

Finally, he eased up. He let out a shaky breath and turned to his daughter with glistening eyes. Asami felt her heart warm, recognizing the pride in his expression.

“I know, I know. I’m so proud of you, but a father can’t help but worry,” he said before giving her a full hug. “Now, let’s go over some last little details…”

The pair sat and talked for a little over an hour before Asami was pushed through the doors and lead to a company car. She had insisted on driving herself to help calm down before the meeting, but Hiroshi insisted it would be unprofessional since they would be bringing some of the police staff back to their testing facility after Asami’s oral presentation.

Even with her heartrate off the charts and her chest so tight she thought her heart would explode, Asami walked into the police station with all the confidence in the world. She had rehearsed, she had built the machine, she knew everything inside and out. Nothing in the world could distract her from her goal.

Nothing in the world, except maybe a coincidental run in with the Avatar…

The last person Asami expected to see in the waiting room she was ushered into was Korra. But alas, there she sat, arms crossed and slouched uncomfortably.

“Korra…” she heard herself say.

Korra looked over and her expression twisted into one of disgust. It was obvious that Asami also so happened to be the last person she expected to see at the police station.

“Great,” she grumbled, turning away without any further commentary. Asami couldn’t take it personally, considering their last and only meeting.

Carefully, Asami walked across the room and sat in the seat the was exactly the furthest from Korra’s. She couldn’t help that it was still in the same room, but the further the better. It didn’t help that they were the only two in the room, but there were plenty of distractions going on around them to help keep her eyes of Korra.

They could see police running around and a loud buzz of talking outside the small waiting room. Asami knew that it had been hectic in Republic City because of the rise of the Equalists and the rapidly growing Triad problems. She definitely didn’t envy police work. There was probably nothing she wanted less than getting involved with justice system. Luckily, Future Industries had been celebrated for being clean and free from any scandals.

“You’re wish came true, by the way,” Korra spoke up after a length five minutes of awkward silence and no sign of anyone coming to get either of them. Asami looked up from her portfolio and cocked her eyebrow. “The Fire Ferrets are going to have to withdraw from the tournament.”

“I hadn’t heard,” Asami grumbled through her nerves. A new set of nerves that were completely unrelated to her sales pitch. A new set of nerves that were woken by Korra’s voice.

“Not so high and mighty without the rest of your squad, are you? I was expecting a bit more excitement from my revelation,” Korra huffed.

As much as Asami wanted to give into Korra’s words and start something, she couldn’t risk looking bad at that moment.

“Yeah, well, I guess I’m not in the mood to waste my energy on a Pro Bending has been,” Asami said returning to the paperwork on her lap.

Korra laughed incredulity.

“I just can’t believe Bolin and Mako said you were the nicest one on the Wolfbats. When I was first starting, they said that Asami Sato was someone I can learn from because of the way you hold your own and show sportsmanship. Just because you’re a beautiful, prissy rich girl doesn’t mean you’re the only one that’s worth something.” 

_That_ revelation was harder to ignore than the first. Although, she found it hard to believe anyone would say anything about the Wolfbat’s sportsmanship. Asami always tried to be a respectable competitor, but Tahno and Ming were quick to soil that image. It was nice to know that her efforts were noticed at all. More importantly, Korra sounded vulnerable.

“That’s not what I-”

“Asami Sato, Chief Beifong is ready to see you now,” an officer cut in.

“Hey!” Korra complained, “I was here first. That’s not fair.”

“Ms. Sato had an appointment. I told you Chief Beifong is too busy to talk to you right now, Avatar Korra,” the man said apologetically. He turned his attention to Asami and gestured for her to follow. “Right this way, Ms. Sato.”

~~~~~~~~

“It looks like we have ourselves a deal, Ms. Sato,” Lin Beifong said after the longest few hours of Asami’s life. The rest of the police staff and nodded in approval as Asami reached out to shake Beifong’s hand. Her grip was tight and rugged, and Asami had to stop herself from reacting aggressively in response.

“Let’s go sign some paperwork!” Asami exclaimed cheerfully.

When Asami was able to re-join her team and her father, there were cheers of celebration. Hiroshi even had dozens of the fanciest bottles of champagne he could find in Republic City delivered.

After months and months of hard work, it was nice to have a fun evening at Future Industries. There was pleasant chatter throughout the room, and Asami stood from afar and watched with a warm feeling in her stomach. She hadn’t felt so proud of herself in so long. After all she had to get through to get back to Pro Bending and the late hours she had to spend in the workshop to prove herself to Future Industries, she finally felt relieved.

She sipped on her champagne and turned to face the window that overlooked the city and beyond. The lights of the city were brought, but her attention was fully captivated by the faint glowing building in the middle of the water.

Air Temple Island.

Asami had found out that’s where Korra was staying while living in Republic City. She recalled their brief interaction from earlier in the day. It felt bad to know that she proved herself wrong to Korra about her character, but from their first meeting, it felt like Korra had little expectations to begin with.

_She called you a groupie, and prissy_ Asami reminded herself when she felt herself almost feel bad for Korra and the Ferrets.

_She also called you beautiful._

“Asami,” Hiroshi said, approaching her suddenly. Asami nearly spilled her drink, surprised by his presence. “I remember you hanging around in my workshop and trying to follow me to meetings when you were younger. You were Future Industries little beacon of joy and happiness. Now you are off making multi-million yuan deals with the biggest police task force in all of the Nations. You are going to make an excellent CEO one day.”

“Thanks, Dad. I knew if I did everything you taught me to do at the meeting today it wasn’t going to be a problem. I was still so nervous though,” Asami laughed and quickly downed the rest of her champagne flute.

“That never really goes away. Your mother’s best suggestion was breathing exercise and meditation, but that was never really for me,” he said softly.

Asami nodded, processing their moment silently.

“So, where do we go from here?”

Hiroshi chuckled. “Onwards and upwards. Before that can happen, we got this invitation in the mail earlier,” he said extending an envelope to Asami.

It was from Councilman Tarrlock. He was formally inviting him to a gala dedicated to none other than Avatar Korra.

“Good networking event,” Asami said monotonously returning the envelope, in attempts to hide her excitement.

“You can say that. I really didn’t have an interest in going, but I thought it sounded like fun after the stressful week you’ve had.”

“Yes, I’m actually pretty excited to go,” Asami said slyly as reached for her father’s champagne flute. There were a few tricks up her sleeve when it came to further piss off the Avatar. Starting with a specific plus one she could bring as her date…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, this chapter is kinda setting up the excitement for future chapters.


End file.
